Transparent, elastic surgical bandage



Dec. 31, 1940. H. w BOWER 2,226,546

TRANSPARENT, ELASTIC SURGICAL BANDAGE Filed Sept. 24, 1938 Patented Dec. 31, 1940 UNITED STATES 'PATENT OFFICE Howard W. Bower, Los Angeles, Calif., assignor to Golden State Supply Co., Los Angeles, Calif.,

Application September 24, 1938, Serial No. 231,554

3 Claims.

This invention is an adhesive, surgical bandage and relates to the transparent type of bandage shown in copending application Ser. No. 215,617, iiled June 24, 1938.

In many uses of surgical adhesive bandages these are wrapped around a limb or finger and the result, often, is that the inelastic vehicle carrying or holding the pad, of whatever type, objectionably constricts the limb or iinger and interrupts blood circulation and therefore retards natural healing. It will be seen that inelastic bandages, when girdled about a iinger, become in fact a tourniquet.

In addition to the objects and advantages given in my above mentioned application, the present invention has for a purpose to provide an adhesive bandage including a vehicle which not only is tough and substantially invisible, when applied, and is water and oil resistive, that is, resistive to hydro-carbons in liquid form, but, particularly, is capable of a desired degree of elasticity when applied as a self-holding girdle to secure a pad on an injured or unhealthy part. Frequently bandages are adhered about or lap over a finger knuckle joint and it is especially desirable to provide a vehicle, in a bandage, that will elastically compensate when the knuckle is bent.

Also, an object of the invention is to provide a bandage which involves a blinding, masking or screen feature to preclude observation of the pad of the applied bandage in cases where the pad becomes soiled and notably to cover medicament stained pads. In other words, an object is to provide a masking bandage which will always be, as largely as is practical, invisible, at least as to the binding, adhesive vehicle, and as to the remainder to be very clean and as inconspicuous as possible, and of a pleasing color when visible. Thus, an object is to provide a bandage having a pad element and a transparent supporting or holding vehicle and a medium interposed outwardly of the pad to screen the soiled or medicated pad from view through the vehicle.

An object is to provide a bandage incorporating an adhesive vehicle strip characterized as of a rubber base and having a pressure-sensitive surface of adhesive nature, it being especially desirable that the opposite face, that is the obverse face, of the bandage is quite clean-definitely so of any incidental tackiness, this latter being very undesirable when the bandage is partly between two iingers much activated relatively; the tackiness being physiologically irritative.

The invention consists of certain advancements in this art as will be set forth in the ensuing disclosure and having, with the above, additional objects and advantages herein developed, `and whose construction, combinations and details of means will be made manifest in the description of the herewith illustrative embodiments, it being understood that modifications, variations and adaptations may be resorted to within the scope, principle and spirit of the invention as it is more directly claimed hereinbelow.

Figure 1 is a perspective of the new bandage.

Figure 2 is a perspective showing the bandage applied.

Figure 3 is a diagrammatic perspective of one form showing a mask interposed between pad plies.

Figure 4 is a perspective showing another form of screening medium.

Figures 5 and 6 show molded, elastic bandage vehicles of diierent forms.

The adhesive vehicle 2 of the bandage consists of a pliable ilm of a rubber compound and which is transparent and very thin, and has one surface 3 which is very tacky and will effectively adhere to another surface when applied by or with pressure. A particular feature of the vehicle 2 is that the outer or obverse face is entirely (practically) clean and free of tackness.

The vehicle'2 may be of any size and shape. and is here shown as of a lengthto make a full girdle about a nger and a substantial lap of one end to bind on the glrdled part.

Intermediately of the ends of the surface 3 there is disposed a suitable pad l of any number of plies, all or any of which' may be medicated or not, as desired.

This pliant lm of rubber vehicle 2 is very thin and when the pad is applied to a fleshy part the vehicle is noticeable substantially only by its sheen, which may be eliminated if desired.

Should the pad become visibly soiled this is objectionable andthe instant bandage provides a feature to mask the pad entirely or to prevent the inner layers or a layer thereof from showing through the transparent film or vehicle 2. In Fig. 3 the pad 4 is of several, relatively free, superposed plies and between any of these there is an interposed, xed mask 5 of preferably opaque, liquid impervious material so that esh excretions or other pad strains will not show through. A thin, flexible ply of water proof material will suice for the mask 5, if non-transparent.

A form of shield or screen is obtained by applying a coat 6 of opaque paint or other material to a surface of the pad presented toward the binder 2, the coat being nuid resistive in character.

The bandage unit. as commercially marketed, has attached to the adhesive ends of part 2, beyond the pad l, suitable protector strips 1 covering the said ends to keep them clean and fresh so that the adhesive 3 will be strongly tacky and will quickly attach to the ilesh when pressed thereto. The cover strips l have a length, each, sumcient to more than one-half cover the intermediate pad 4 without adhesion thereto, the strips l being of any suitable, non-adhesive ply, such as cheap sanitary gauze.

Thus, the outer, obverse face of the binding vehicle 2 is at no time contacted by a contiguous adhesive surface of another film layer of vehicle 2 or part thereof while in a merchandising pack- 88e.

In the manufacture of the lm strip 2 all steps are carefully avoided which would result in surface contact of parts of the adhesive surface or coat l with the opposite or obverse face of the nlm so that no transfer of the tacky coat to the obverse face can occur and make the strip unfit for use for the purpose for which it is here particularly intended, that is. as a new element in a combination, surgical bandage-an element providing cleanliness, invisibility, toughness, pliability, immunity to common liquids such as water and liquid hydrocarbons, and especially having elasticity to avoid tourniquet restrictiveness.

The bandage vehicle, as stated, is of an elastic, base stock such as transparent, rubber hydrohalide. and the adhesive is a tacky, rubber base stock. This hydrohalide lends itself particularly to a molding process and Fig. 5 is `a perspective of a fiat strip 2a having a molded depression il in which is embedded and. if desired attached, a suitable pad l, the protective tape 1 htaving been removed from the tacky surface coa Figure 6 is a perspective of a. molded linger 5 stall Il of transparent rubber base material. A feature of this stall is the provision of a lo tudinal, inturned fold or tuck I2 to facilitate the application of the stall to lingers of greatly dif- 10 ferent sizes. regardless of the elasticity of the material of which the stall is made. The material is very thin and the tuck will form no objectlonable lap when applied.

The adhesive is preferably non-toxic. l5

What is claimed is:

1. A surgical bandage having, in combination, a pad and an elastic, water and`oil resistive strip of rubber hydrohalide forming a vehicle -and binder for the pad and the strip having on one 20 face only a pressure sensitive adhesive and the other or outer face of the strip being slick and devoid of tackiness.

2. A surgical bandage of the class described and including a pad-carrying vehicle consisting 25 of a strip of .rubber hydrohalide the side opposite the pad-carrying of which is slick, non-adhesive and` anti-frlctional and whose inner, padcarrying face has a pressure sensitive adhesive.

3. A surgical bandage of linger-stall form hav- 30 ing a longitudinal tuck to facilitate application of the bandage to fingers of various sizes; the stall being of molded material, and having tangential strips from an edge of the tuck for ailixing the bandage. 35

HOWARD W. BOWER. 

